Rock and a Hard Place
by Javana
Summary: BtVSHP Buffy finally gets a well deserved vacation, but is everything as it seems? In Hogwarts anything could happen
1. Prologue

Prologue

Disclaimer: believe me if I owned BtVS or Harry Potter, I would not be working my butt off to get through uni. In other words no I don't own em.

AN: This is set after OoTP and season seven of BtVS. Also it's my first fanfic I'm game enough toput up so please be kind and review. Pretty, pretty please with a cherry on top?

AN2: I should probably mention that although I've cheaked this myself my computer doesn't have spell-checker (yes I know I REALLY need to get a new one) so I apolgise in advance for any grammer and spelling errors. Thanks. Enjoy the story.

It was to the surprise of everyone in the Great Hall when a large bald-headed eagle flew in with the post at breakfast. It was even more surprising when said bird landed infront of Professor Snape, Hogwarts Potions Master, who according to most of the residents of Hogwarts never received mail. However to the vast disappointment of Hogwarts ever nosey students all the professor did was calmly take the letter and with a last glare walked out the Great Hall.

"I wonder what that was about?" questioned Harry Potter from his seat at the Griffindor table as the noise around them increased exponentially.

"Probably something from You-Know-Who" grunted his best-friend Ron as he shoveled more bacon into his mouth.

"Oh honestly! That was a bald-headed eagle, whoever sent him that letter is from America" stated Hermonie, while looking like she was trying not to be sick due to Ron's display of table manners.

'Who would be sending Snape something from America?' thought Harry as he headed off to Transfiguration their first class of the day.

At that moment, halfway around the world in LA, a young blonde slayer was packing what few clothes she now owned into a suitcase as she prepared to take the first holiday she'd had in seven years, if one excluded dying, with an old family friend in England.

AN3: just a question does anyone know how many cents are in a quarter, dime, nickel and penny? As you can probably tell from the question I'm not American and I got an assignment due that uses their currency. So if anyone could be kind enough to help me, I would really appreciate it.


	2. Procrastination is an ArtForm

Disclaimer: nup still don't own it.

AN: OH MY GOSH! YOU PEOPLE ARE AMAZING! 12 REVIEWS! I didn't use to believe that reviews had the effect that authors said they did, but they really do! And not only that but everyone was nice enough to tell me the valves of a dime, nickel, etc. Thank You SOOO much! It was a major help with my assignment (computer programming if anyone wants to know). You are all the nicest people.

Actually a couple of reviews have asked about pairings. To be honest I hadn't really thought about it, I've had a request for both Buffy/Snape and Buffy/Angel (though not quite sure how I could work thar one in but anyway…) I'm quite happy to see what you guys want, any romancing will be a while yet anyway, I've got to "set the scene" first. Though I won't be making it Buffy/Harry as he'll be like 16 in this story and I don't think Buffy would go for someone that young. And no before anyone asks Sirius is sadly still dead and not coming back – having been through it I don't think Buffy would let anyone else get ripped out of Heaven.

Oh yeah…

" " denotes speech

' ' denotes thought

Oh my gosh how long are these author notes?... it would probably be an idea to let you get on with the story wouldn't it?...

Chapter 1 – Procrastination is an Art form

'Well that could've gone worse' thought Buffy as she settled in for the 9hr flight to Heathrow on the Boeing 747. It was actually kind of funny now to look back on the Scooby's reaction to her news, well now that it was over anyway…

_Flashback_

The potentials had all finally being fixed up and sent on their way to places all round the world, Giles and Willow would be leaving soon for England to rebuild the council and Xander was going off to Africa. The Scooby's were finally splitting up, all going their own ways.

Buffy couldn't help feeling slightly guilty about being glad everyone was leaving. She loved her friends but she really needed 'me time' at the moment, time that she hadn't had since she'd been brought back, there had always been one apocalypse after another. It was defiantly time to take a break andsort out the mess that was her head.

That was actually one of the reasons why she hadn't _quite_ gotten around to telling them of her own imminent departure to Europe. Because unfortunately the old saying was true that"the road to hell is paved with good intentions" or the road supposedly _out_ of hell was anyway. Which is why they would definitly try to stop her going off on her own… maybe if she left it to the last minute they wouldn't be able to protest as much?

The only ones she had told were Faith and Dawn - who naturally had thrown a huge tantrum about Buffy abandoning her, until the 'ever faithful' Faith pointed out the "Sunnydale Incident", whichcertainly helped the "let Buffy have a holiday" argument.

So now she had both the support of Dawn and Faith. Which would help hopefully, when Buffy finally got round to telling the others.

Life was funny she'd faced some of the worst evils in existence including but not limited to the Master and the Happy Meat Palace. Yet she couldn't work up the courage to tell her friends she wasn't coming with them.

They had all being sitting round the foyer of the Hyperion, Angel's old hotel when Buffy started the conversation, interrupting Willow's babbling about all the new things she and Kennedy were going to be seeing in England.

'Come on Buffy are you a Slayer or a mouse. Get it together you'll be fine it's no big deal…'

"I'm gonna go to Europe I think, take a holiday, maybe see some old friends" interrupted Buffy quietly.

"WHAT!" shouted out two voices (the third was still in shock).

'Shoulda gone with the mouse option'

"I thought you were going to stay here, you know…, see off all the potentials, maybe get smoochie with someone...or you could come with us help Giles set up the Council… or maybe go help Xander, or maybe…" babbled Willow.

"You can come with me Buff, no offence but can't really see you being all with the tweed and tea drinking" countered Xander. Although he too was looking worried, as if it had only just occurred to him that the gang wasn't going to be together. "Ain't that right G-man?"

"Well…, I must profess, to not putting much thought into what you would be doing now Buffy…, and don't call me that" Giles said as he started to polish his glasses. "But Good Lord Buffy, England? Wouldn't it be more productive if you were to go to Cleveland, help train the potentials and don't forget your duty to the hellmouth."

"To be truthful Giles, I've put nearly 8 years of my life into slaying, the potentials are more then capable of looking after the hellmouth, I did at that age, besides they don't really like me, and I need a holiday. I've got some family friends in Europe who I haven't seen in years and it would be nice to catch up, ya know be normal girl."

Giles sighed as he took in Buffy's hopeful expression, shaking his head slightly as he replaced his glasses.

"There's nothing I can say to you to change your mind is there?" Seeing Buffy's rueful look he knew he had his answer.

"Very well then, I wish you luck and you had best make sure you keep in touch."

"But Giles!..."

"G'Man!..."

"We're not going to be here ourselves Xander, Willow, we have no right to tell Buffy she can't go and see family." The smile Giles got in return from this sentence proved to him that he had done the right thing by his Slayer.

"But Buffy, what about Dawn?" exclaimed Willow in a last attempt to deny the realisation that the Scooby gang was not what it once was.

"Dawn's going to be going to college in New York anyway, she's okay with me not being there." countered Buffy and with that last obstacle out of the way,she was set.

_End Flashback_

Back on the plane Buffy smiled as she remembered the conversation between her and Faith about her leaving.

_Flashback_

"Do ya wanna go?"

"Yeah… I do"

"Just don't forget the 'H & H' B, a girl's got needs. Go find a nice piece of ass. I'll look out for the Lil'sis."

"Thanks Faith… I'll keep that in mind…"

_End Flashback_

It was a pity that Buffy couldn't tell her that she was going to a highschool, a magical highschool, but a highschool, none-the-less. It truly saddened Buffy that she wasn't able to tell her friends about the magical world, but the ministry was really strict about that type of thing.

Though at first the memories had been painful enough that not telling her friends at the beginning had been easy and later she just didn't know how, particularly when Willow got into her Wicca stage. The only one who had known was Anya surprisingly enough. She had spotted Buffy reading a book on wizarding fashion, one that Willow hadtried tothrow out of the Magicbox believing it a load of rubbish, after all 'people didn't really go around in pointy hats'. It seemed the age and knowledge from being a vengeance demon came in handy sometimes.

Actually it was this lack of knowledge about the wizarding world that had first tipped Buffy off to something being wrong with Dawnie the spell just confirmed it. She had casually mentioned owling some old school friends from LA and Dawn hadn't a clue what she was talking about.

It would be weird to be back in the wizarding world,especially since it was in another country, one that hopefully didn't know she had been expelled and had her wand snapped (Willow and Unicorn hair 11 inches). Of course that wand wouldn't work for her now, being the slayer she needed something darker, a fact that she was in no hurry to disclose. The wizarding world had no clue about the existence of the slayer, but their reactions to most things they didn't understand showed that it wouldn't be pleasant if they found out. She was just lucky that while her father had been a wizard, her mother was a muggle, so when they had to move away after the divorce, it wasn't hard to settle into normal muggle life - well as normal as things got on the hellmouth.

They were nearing London now, she hadn't told her friends specifically where she was going, they assumed it was somewhere on the mainland, a notion that she hadn't the heart to disabuse them off seeing as they wouldn't be able to visit.

She wondered how Severus was doing. She hadn't seen him since he was a teenager. Her father's family had done business with the Snapes for generations mostly in potion ingredients trade.

All she knew of Severus now though was that he taught Potions at a magical school called Hogwarts in Scotland and wasn't currently seeing anyone. She'd been able to gain that much when he had sent her a reply with directions and saying that 'yes it was amendable if she stayed with him', as long as she could put up with the 'snot-faced brats', which after overcoming hell itself while surviving in a house with over 15 teenage girls and one bathroom, didn't seem like too much of a challenge.

They were pulling into Heathrow now, all Buffy had to do was make her way to somewhere called Hogsmead and she'd be set for her holiday. She just hoped that for once in her life the Powers That Be took pity on her and allowed her just _once_ have a break without any supernatural baddies popping up.


End file.
